It seems perennially popular dive bar Kai is among a number of bars on the alleyway west of 3.3 Mall likely to be demolished within the next two months. A member of staff at Kai confirmed that they will be closing their current location sometime in March and moving to a third-floor spot below Kokomo in Tongli Studio. We haven't confirmed other bar closures yet, but sources from two nearby bars seemed pretty sure something is afoot.

According to one of those sources, all the bars on the strip between Kai and Shooters, and Smuggler's and Fish Nation, will be chai'd sometime in March. Our source added that Youth Club (formerly Poacher's) will be spared the wrecking ball, and that The Tree also seemed out of danger. Again, however, no confirmation on anything beyond Kai's closure.

The explanation our source offered is that there appear to be no plans for rebuilding on the alleyway; authorities simply want that strip of bars cleared out "because of concerns about the negative effect the bars have on the neighboring school, especially in the summer." Of course, there will still be a bunch of bars just around the corner. But with that strip gone, how long before the chai symbols are stamped across the rickety block of apartments around the corner housing Luga's, Salud and 9.9?

Some would mourn the demise of the old Kai-Shooters alleyway - how many of us spent a good few nights there during our first months (or years ...) in Beijing? Others would say good riddance, especially to the venues on the strip which were regularly accused of serving fake alcohol, and the minority of staff who had a tendency to take a bottle to a customer's head. Perhaps they'll all simply set up elsewhere, though there's hardly room in Sanlitun for all of them - you can't imagine The Door or Shooters finding a convenient spot in the Village North. One thing's for sure - like it or not, the era of the ten-kuai Sanlitun bar is coming to an end, and the destruction of the Kai-Shooters strip would be a huge step towards closing that chapter in our scene's story.

UPDATE (Feb 9, 2011, 4:08pm): Just spoke with Jay, the owner of Fish Nation, who tells us that the businesses on Fish Nation's side of the street - that's Smuggler's, The Door, Fish Nation and Youth Club - will not be closing. According to Jay, only the bars opposite Fish Nation - Kai, Butterfly and Shooters - are in trouble. More to come on this, no doubt ...